


Swimming Lessons

by paupotter_4869



Series: The Most Important Thing. . . [10]
Category: The Last of Us (Video Games)
Genre: Excursión, Family Bonding, Father-Daughter Relationship, One Shot, joel's still trying to give ellie the world, ride out, soft, swimming lessons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:02:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28025172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paupotter_4869/pseuds/paupotter_4869
Summary: Joel figures it's high time Ellie learned how to swim, however scary the idea is to Ellie. Need I say more? :)
Relationships: Ellie & Joel (The Last of Us)
Series: The Most Important Thing. . . [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2033674
Kudos: 18





	Swimming Lessons

**Author's Note:**

> All credit to Naughty Dogs. I do not own anything.

Up in his horse, the sunlight filtering through the woods, Joel leaned forward to avoid hitting a particularly low branch. He then looked to his right, to an Ellie beaming with joy and itching to spur her horse and fly off—only showing restraint because of the fear of being banned for life to leave Jackson ever again. He saw the expression on her face, the purest happiness, and deepest satisfaction, and knew it was a very good idea taking her out today.

“So, d’you know their names?” Ellie asked.

Joel cleared his throat, a little bit put out that Ellie should doubt him now of all times. “This one’s Pilgrim. Yours is John.”

_“John?”_ she repeated, looking down at her black stallion as if expecting the animal to confirm the name he’d been baptized with. The horse only neighed in response.

“You’re complaining about a name like John when you named a horse _Callus_ not so long ago?”

“I know, I know. But John is so. . . Unoriginal. Could I make some suggestions?”

“Not sure they’re going to fly, if Callus was your first pick,” Joel uttered under his breath. Of course, he argued that changing the horse’s name would be too confusing for the animal and riders equally.

Only a few days ago, she’d finally exploded and told Joel clearly what was going on. She’d been feeling trapped inside those four walls and having her on cleaning or cooking duties was not helping her mood at all. He’d been trying to give her some time and space which clearly hadn’t been working out.

If only he could indulge her wishes more often, Joel sighed. Or, more accurately, if only _all_ of her troubles and struggles were so easy to fix. He knew they weren’t.

For the moment, however, she could enjoy a day out, and he would enjoy watching her beaming, that radiant expression on her face, all day long. She’d already put him through some of the puns she’d been saving for the occasion and Joel feared there would be many more to come in the next few hours.  
  
“Why haven’t you taken me out before?” she demanded, not as cold and pissed off as he’d feared.   
  
“That your way of thanking me, kiddo?”   
  
“Take it whatever way you want. You need to take me out more.”   
  
_She is completely right,_ Joel sighed, his heart aching upon denying her the chance of spending a whole week, or heck, two weeks, out there amongst nature. She was made for living outdoors, every inch of her being missed the woods and, more precisely, the _freedom._ Inside of that community, it was as if she had no way out, as if she was back in that military school—he understood her conundrum, for he’d needed all of five days to join after they got to Jackson.

Ellie needed being out here, too, as well as the feeling of being useful to the community and to being needed. The past year she’d spent with Joel, traveling cross-country, was the freest she’d ever felt in her life. Difficult as it was to survive in the wild, Apocalyptic world they lived in nowadays. One could argue leaving the safety of Jackson city would be a terrible mistake, but she could handle herself. 

Joel knew she would make an excellent addition to patrol duties, as he’d seen some poorly qualified recruits in the group patrols. Not that they’d allow a minor to join in, of course, even if he vouched for her. And that was one more thing Ellie was having a hard time wrapping her mind around—and forgiving Joel. There was no need to redirect the blame and tell her it was all Tommy and Maria the ones who wouldn’t allow her, just yet, joining the patrols.

“Hey, Joel,” she called him out. “I’ll race you.” 

“Let’s take it easy,” he recommended, taking her horse’s reigns before she could put her crazy ideas into action. “You don’t know the area.” 

“But _you_ do,” she scowled—a full, straight-out accusation. He needed to breathe deeply as not to snap back at her. He understood her anger fully.

“You don’t even know where we’re going.” 

“Who cares!” was her response. She was finally out of those four walls imprisoning her, she wanted to feel and rejoice in her freedom. Joel couldn’t possibly say no to her—and she knew it, too. The pout she made was completely designed to strip him of all and any defenses. 

Within a moment’s notice, he let go of John’s reigns and spurred Pilgrim on, setting him off trotting down the path, leaving behind an astonished Ellie. 

“Try to keep up!” he yelled over his shoulder. 

Shock paralyzed Ellie for all of two seconds straight, a complaint frozen at the tip of her tongue, and, next thing Joel knew, she was literally on his tail. Competitiveness drove them both and they forgot about manners and possible Infected and the dangers of the woods he didn’t know fully yet; the race was the only thing on their minds.

It was completely exhilarating and Joel soon heard Ellie’s laughter rising in the air, over the wind blowing, or the horse’s hooves against the ground. To the best of his abilities, Joel tried to block her advances and keep the lead, trying to choose a path through the safest areas Tommy had pointed him out on the map yesterday night. In the end, he took a small detour before they made their way to the one spot he’d chosen for today. 

Some minutes later, he slowly came to a halt by the river, the grass and soil giving out to the rocks at their feet. As he descended from Pilgrim’s saddle, Ellie flew past him until she realized he’d given up on the race, slowed down at about ten feet from Joel, and steered John to return to Joel’s position on a walking gait. Sweat on her forehead, the radiant smile on her face gave life to Joel’s old, long-ago shattered heart. 

“You forfeit, then?” Ellie demanded.

“Technically, I don’t think you ever got past me,” Joel pointed out, although he wasn’t going to argue _this_ point right now. “Come on, let them rest.”

He held out John’s reigns for her to climb down off her horse and then waved at Ellie to tie both horses’ reigns on a tree branch. As she worked, Joel approached the river and knelt to water his face and neck, appreciating the cold temperature after the exertion of the race. 

“So, is this when you’re going to tell me that I’m finally a member of the patrol duties?” she asked, making Joel groaned. He didn’t mean to give her the wrong impression and upset her now of all times, after she was so genuinely happy a minute ago.

“Not exactly,” he grumbled, cupping his hands to drink some water, all part of his scheme. He knew Ellie would be thirsty, too. He hadn’t packed any canteens for this exact reason.

Catching Ellie nearby by the corner of his eye, Joel stepped forward, until the river flow came up to his stomach—deep enough for Ellie, he figured, but still a shallow enough depth that she wouldn’t be able to stand on her own if necessary. It was only a small, tributary river that, per Tommy’s word, became dangerous only after winter, when the snowmelt began. There was nothing to fear right now.

Ellie tried to follow him, a little bit weary now, her arms stretched in an attempt not to trip. Joel went back and held out a hand to take hers, helping her keep balance. She shivered a little bit, whether it was for the cold temperature of the water or the fact that she viewed that damned river as a threat.

It made Joel chuckle under his breath. Such a force of nature to be reckoned with on a horse, or land, but she became a tiny, shy, little, defenseless animal on water. Well, she needed to change that, already. If she wanted to join the patrols, if she wanted to be a real asset out there with him or any other partner, not being able to swim was an unforgivable weakness he planned to mend right there and then.

“Mind your step,” he warned.

He didn’t give Ellie, however, any time to assess the upcoming threat and act in consequence: he pushed her by the shoulder, unbalancing her, and she fell onto the river. Panicking, she started yelling and flailing about, not a clue of how to process what had happened and how to get out of there. Joel, of course, had kept a grip on her and helped her up.

“Breathe, kiddo, you’re alright,” he said.

“What the hell was that?!” Ellie shrieked.

“This is how you’re going to start your first swimming lesson of the day,” Joel explained without losing his cool despite Ellie’s desperate yells and angered face.

“By fucking _drowning_ me?!”

“You’re not going to drown. You’re completely safe and sound with me.”

She reacted to those last words—she knew they were true—and finally managed to relax a bit, believing he never attempted to murder her. Joel had always tried to keep her safe, at every step and corner of the shitstorm they’d been through the past year.

“Could have warned me,” she complained, still.

“And what would be the fun in that?” Joel chuckled. “I swear to you, once we’re done, you’ll be able to swim down the river, no problem.”

“Can’t we just use a pallet?” she sighed, looking around to see if there were any around, but she wasn’t so lucky. She started to realize there was no way out of this one for her and that she was going to overcome this stupid, senseless fear.

“Not anymore, kiddo,” Joel laughed.

Ellie relaxed a little, although her whole body was tense, and not only because the water was so cold. There was only one reason why she wasn’t running for her life right now, climbing on top of John, and dashing back to the relative safety of Jackson, and that reason had a name. She trusted him more than any other person on the Planet—she trusted him with her life, it seemed.

“Fine,” she accepted grudgingly. “Let’s do this.”

“Very good,” Joel applauded her totally faked enthusiasm. “Now, first things first, let’s try to float without drowning. . .”

_Shouldn’t have said that._ He regretted it the moment the word was out of his mouth and saw the panicked reaction from Ellie, saw the uphill battle these swimming lessons will be. There was a reason why some people could never overcome certain phobias.

“Let’s breathe deeply and try to relax,” he suggested, for Ellie was holding onto him like a liferaft and, if he wasn’t mistaken, bruises would come out on his arms the following day. “I’m right here, kiddo. I’m not going anywhere and I’m not letting you go.”

“You better not,” she scowled.

“I’m not,” he promised, deep, serious voice. “We do this together. Now, try to spread your legs behind you, let them float—should be easy if you relax a little bit. If you’re more comfortable, you can try floating on your back.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it ! :)


End file.
